Stéphane Rosière, who wrote this spring the text in favor of the European constitution and whom I met for lunch after the French "No" to the consitution, is a professional geographer. He sent me an invitation for a colloquium today of the Association of French Geographers on his specialty: “Ethnic Cleansing”. He, probably as much as I myself, were surprised, that I actually went there! From my own experience, I know that most invitations simply end up in the nowhere. And I wasn’t sure, if I wanted to spend Saturday afternoon on something as serious, but my curiosity about a colloquia in another fields took over. Would it be comprehensible? Interesting?
Several presentations were given, focusing on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Kosovo and Rwanda – the last one, was rather short, as geographers as much as physicists are running overtime during their presentations. And yes, I think I understood, what they were talking about.
The most interesting part to me was the theoretical introduction Stéphane gave in the beginning – it made me think a lot. Stéphane presented ethnic cleansing as on of the ways to homogenize a society. The wish by a population to have a homogenous society is mainly based on security and the consideration to be the legitimate occupant of a territory, reflecting also a kind of “democratic curse”, the power of the majority. To achieve a homogenate society, measures of “in-politics” or “out-politics” can be taken. “In-politics” varies from tolerance, to assimilation, forced assimilation, legal distinctions and make then a soft transition to “out-politics”, starting with segregation, dislocation, expulsion, punctual massacres, mass massacres and at the extreme of the spectrum, genocide.
During Stéphane’s presentation, I thought about the riots in the suburbs. The situation of ethnic tesions in Serbia with respect to the situation in the western democatries is a very different one. Yet, our societies haven’t found a response to immigration either – the fear of foreign cultures is palpable, the fear of insecurity, losing national identity, losing wealth, the question of the legitimacy of the immigrants. Segregation may occur based on economic issues, or even be searched for by the immigrants themselves in order to live within a community with the same origin, the same cultural identity. Differences in the civic rights when living in a foreign country are normal, commonly accepted and I even consider justified, as long as they are not resulting in difference in human rights or legal rights. I have no conclusions from this, but just a feeling, that there are many open issues.
Another point that made me think was the situation in Kosovo. Kosovars and Serbs are not able or rather don’t want to live together, except apparently in mafia-like structure of organized crime. The result of this will most probably be the independence of Kosovo, considered justified by the right of populations to their self-determination. But as soon as one starts to define a population as an entity with an identity and associated rights, isn’t there the beginning of wanting to homogenize and ethnic cleansing? Is there simply something wrong with the concept of national states? Both countries would then certainly like to join the European Community. But for the European Community to work, we have to overcome some parts that define national identity, which is very tough even among the countries that have a higher level of tolerance.
From an individual perspective, it seems important to educate children, such that they can find an identity where factors like nationality, religion, culture, even family plays an apporiate role, but doesn't play the primary role. This is certainly easier when a person has the hope to be able to do something with their lives. Poverty, unemployment, discrimination are for sure factors which do not favor personal development and personal identity.
By the way, Stephane also sent a link to a new European initiative, "Sauvons l'Europe", after the defeat of the constitutional referenda in France and the Netherlands. I still do believe in the European Community.
Shame on me! That’s what it is called “to mess up”! Today we had the visit of three students, from the most important Master in Particle Physics in Paris. The students have to report about our lab to their fellow students, in order to present the lab. Naturally we want to give a good impression, so that they come to do their PhD with us: the competition is tough – there are five big labs doing particle or astroparticle physics around Paris. As Pascal teaches this afternoon, it was up to me to welcome them, and to give them an introduction to the lab. I prepared slides during lunch, and for the presentation I went a full hour overtime! And I was not even conscious of doing so: I simply took pleasure in talking about the lab, showing them around, and if I wouldn’t have woken up suddenly, because the light started to fall, I would still be talking to them.
